Espresso Enthusiasts

[Scepticalscribe]

Ah, @flyingspur - do you mean to tell us that you actually read the whole thread?

Call me impressed. That ranks as serious dedication.

 

[flyingspur]

Ah, @flyingspur - do you mean to tell us that you actually read the whole thread?

Call me impressed. That ranks as serious dedication.

When your in a tube crossing the Atlantic often, I get lots done. Thankfully I do not ride in the back part of said tube.

 

[S.B.G]

Is there any visible gauge that tells you (the way my kettle does) how much water it contains?

Unfortunately no, there is no gauge or other visible indication as to how much water is in the tank. There are only two ways of knowing. 1. It runs dry, as it did to me today, or 2. open the lid and peer down inside the tank to see.

Clearly, it would be nice to have some sort of visual indication as to the water level, but there isn't.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Just roasted up a pound of Ethiopia Kaffa beans from Michiti Co-op. Now I have to wait. 😡

 

[Shrink]

Just roasted up a pound of Ethiopia Kaffa beans from Michiti Co-op. Now I have to wait. 😡

You do have the choice of using the beans right now and producing espresso carbonated soda pop.

Or not...🙄

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I have been reading Whittard's website; funny how it never crossed my mind that they also sell tea and coffee as well as (high end, luxury and excellent varieties of) hot chocolate and cocoa.

Anyway, I plan to phone them next week, partly to chat, but mostly to investigate their Yirgacheffe further.

 

[S.B.G]

Just roasted up a pound of Ethiopia Kaffa beans from Michiti Co-op. Now I have to wait. 😡

I assume you have no other beans already roasted and ready for brewing then eh?

 

[mobilehaathi]

I assume you have no other beans already roasted and ready for brewing then eh?

Yeah...I messed up! 😳

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Yeah...I messed up! 😳

When do you expect to be able to user the brand to make coffee?

As a non-roaster, this is something (@Shrink mentioned a few days a few posts back) that I am not au fait with.

 

[Shrink]

When do you expect to be able to user the brand to make coffee?

As a non-roaster, this is something (@Shrink mentioned a few days a few posts back) that I am not au fait with.

In my experience, freshly roasted beans need to rest and off-gas for 3-4 days.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

In my experience, freshly roasted beans need to rest and off-gas for 3-4 days.

Thanks for the reminder, I wasn't sure whether it was two-three days, or three-four days.

Well, @mobilehaathi, as I remarked to myself in the railway station on Friday morning., there is always Starbucks, especially if the choice (in my case the choice was not because of a lack of coffee, but rather because of a lack of time in which to prepare the coffee) is between no coffee or Starbucks.

Three tiny, stupid paper tubes of brown sugar that ended up getting spilled (mostly on the counter) made what they called a double espresso a lot more palatable.

 

[S.B.G]

Here is a video, in 4K, of a shot I pulled tonight from the new Expobar machine. If you can't playback 4K on your device, the video will downscale to 1080P or whatever it can handle automatically.

This used up the last of the Black Cat Classic beans, and I had to use about 4 grams of the Los Inmortales to get to 18 grams in the PF.

 

[Shrink]

Here is a video, in 4K, of a shot I pulled tonight from the new Expobar machine. If you can't playback 4K on your device, the video will downscale to 1080P or whatever it can handle automatically.

This used up the last of the Black Cat Classic beans, and I had to use about 4 grams of the Los Inmortales to get to 18 grams in the PF.

Ugh! Disgusting!

Look at that black stuff with that scummy foam on top.🙁

Nothing like that neat clean French press coffee.



(OK...so I'm tearing the last nine hairs that I have left out with envy!😡)

A beautiful shot...the Expobar + your skills are working like a charm!😀

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Here is a video, in 4K, of a shot I pulled tonight from the new Expobar machine. If you can't playback 4K on your device, the video will downscale to 1080P or whatever it can handle automatically.

This used up the last of the Black Cat Classic beans, and I had to use about 4 grams of the Los Inmortales to get to 18 grams in the PF.

Yes, this is classic Art House cinema, of the cinema verité variety; just beautiful.

 

[Shrink]

Yes, this is classic Art House cinema, of the cinema verité variety; just beautiful.

Antonioni, Fellini, Truffaut...eat your heart out.

We have @SandboxGeneral!😎

 

[S.B.G]

I must admit that prior to making this cup, I was surfing my iTunes library for something to watch because I'm a little bored this evening. I watched two movies this afternoon and they weren't that great. Once I posted this espresso video here, I popped a bag of popcorn and proceeded to watch my video over, and over again while I consumed said popcorn. That was the best entertainment I've had all day!

Watching the video in full screen on my big screen TV was pretty neat.

 

[Shrink]

I must admit that prior to making this cup, I was surfing my iTunes library for something to watch because I'm a little bored this evening. I watched two movies this afternoon and they weren't that great. Once I posted this espresso video here, I popped a bag of popcorn and proceeded to watch my video over, and over again while I consumed said popcorn. That was the best entertainment I've had all day!

Watching the video in full screen on my big screen TV was pretty neat.

Not only is he a fine cinematographer...but he's amazingly modest, too!🙄

😛

 

[S.B.G]

Not only is he a fine cinematographer...but he's amazing modest, too!🙄

😛

Hey, its all about me, remember?

I learned that from someone, somewhere... 😕

 

[JamesMike]

Would you or others mind posting a few of your favorite ordering places? I'm even skeptical about
some in store purchases I have made recently. Thanks you!

Costco is good for my Rwandan beans.

 

[Shrink]

Costco is good for my Rwandan beans.

If you have any options, I might suggest purchasing them elsewhere as they likely have been there way beyond their freshness life.

 

[JamesMike]

If you have any options, I might suggest purchasing them elsewhere as they likely have been there way beyond their freshness life.

I have not had a bad bag of beans from them so far, normally my Kenyan and Ethiopian beans are sent to me from friends in those countries, but Rwanda the mail service is a bit dicey.

 

[Shrink]

I have not had a bad bag of beans from them so far, normally my Kenyan and Ethiopian beans are sent to me from friends in those countries, but Rwanda the mail service is a bit dicey.

If they taste good to you, that's all that matters.

 

[D.T.]

Local supplier, they roast in house ... I've had coffee in there a few times that was excellent (they also have some great beer, wine, deserts)

Anyway, this was my score:

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Local supplier, they roast in house ... I've had coffee in there a few times that was excellent (they also have some great beer, wine, deserts)

Anyway, this was my score:

View attachment 639710

Now, - for some inexplicable reason - that coffee appeals to me in an almost atavistic way.

What a really lovely bag, with clear - and legible - labelling.

Ethiopian, Yirgacheffe, Aricha; sounds as though you have a wonderful treat in store. Enjoy.

 

[S.B.G]

Local supplier, they roast in house ... I've had coffee in there a few times that was excellent (they also have some great beer, wine, deserts)

Anyway, this was my score:

View attachment 639710

Probably one of the most important things in that photo is the roasted on date. Beans with no roasted on date, in my opinion, should be avoided. 😉

Anyway, on to one of @Shrink favorite topics, me. 😀

Being that I ran out of the Black Cat beans last night, I used the Dessert Oasis beans this morning, roasted 3 days ago. The cup was magnificent to say the least. The Machine is wonderful and I can actually notice a difference in the quality of the shots and the taste compared to the Gaggia. That's not to say the Gaggia is a bad machine, because its not. But after using the Gaggia for more than a year and a few days with the Expobar, I can already see that the Gaggia is less forgiving when it comes to tamp pressure, weight of grounds and grinder settings. If I didn't get it dialed in just right, I wouldn't get a good cup. So far, every shot I've pulled with the Expobar has been respectable and required very little adjustments to my techniques.

I think I've come a long way since my first espresso machine.